Ayala Corp.’s preparations for its 200th anniversary are putting renewed focus on leadership succession, institutional values and the ability to adapt, as chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and his son Jaime Alfonso shared how the country’s oldest conglomerate prepares the next generation to carry its legacy forward.
Speaking at the ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit, the father and son offered personal accounts of how their family approaches leadership, from a three-year commitment that brought Jaime Augusto into the business to his son’s teenage experience working on a farm in the Australian desert.
“We hope we’re not the last generation,” Jaime Augusto quipped.
His own father never pressured him to join Ayala. While he was studying in the United States, he simply asked him to return home and work for three years.
“I don’t know why three years,” Jaime Augusto recalled.
He returned after college and found the challenges in the Philippines appealing, particularly the opportunity to make a difference.
For his children, preparation involved experiences beyond familiar surroundings. Jaime Alfonso was about 13 or 14 when he was sent to work on a farm in the Australian desert alongside people he did not know.
“Jaza had never liked me hanging around through the summers,” Jaime Alfonso said, referring to his father by the nickname used in the office.
He also cited his father’s ability to balance governance and management, reconcile different stakeholder perspectives and provide clear direction while empowering executives.
Preserving Ayala’s legacy, he stressed, is not solely a family responsibility but a shared undertaking involving professional managers and other stakeholders.
As the conglomerate approaches its bicentennial, it has identified the values and behaviors it wants to retain while continuing to modernize its businesses. Trust remains fundamental to sustaining long-term strategies, Jaime Alfonso said.
He also pointed to Ayala’s entrepreneurial culture and willingness to take on new opportunities.
“We’re not afraid of the future. We want to attack it.”
The group’s experience in electric mobility through AC Mobility illustrates this approach, requiring investment decisions across vehicle distribution and charging infrastructure, each with different capital requirements and returns.
For Jaime Augusto, the ultimate measure of renewal is continued relevance.
“I always wanted an Ayala that was important to the country in a broader sense, touching the lives of as many Filipinos as possible.”
He hopes future managers will remain creative in responding to technological change, evolving market conditions and new partnerships, ensuring the institution continues to matter to generations of Filipinos.
